Front pages blacked out in Belarus rights protest

Two leading Polish daily newspapers blacked out most of their front pages yesterday in protest against violations of press freedoms in neighbouring Belarus.

The blacked-out pages were explained with the words: "This is what free speech looks like in Belarus." Amnesty International sponsored the protest against Belarus and its leader, President Alexander Lukashenko, who is described by US and EU officials as Europe's last dictator.

Mr Lukashenko denies violating fundamental rights, saying he has spared Belarussians the upheavals of other former Soviet states. Reuters Warsaw